Falling Leaves: Chapter Ten
Chapter Ten: Exploring the Dark It was an uneventful three days at the Hideout before things calmed down a bit between the Uppers and Lowers. Emily came over to pick me up so I left my new found friends. She brought me to a hotel to stay in for a few days. I was sitting on the bed thinking about what I should do next. I didn’t know the first thing in defending myself or making plans. I decided to write down the useful things I knew in a notebook. I spent not long doing so which depressed me. I’m so stupid and I can’t do a thing without someone holding my hand. I thought. “Donny, I’m going to take a shower. Think you’ll be okay in here alone for a bit?” Emily asked. “Yeah, sure.” I replied. As soon as Emily went into the bathroom I got up off the bed. I’m going to do something today. I thought as I opened the hotel room door. Nothing can stop me now. I clenched my fists tightly as I walked down the hallway. The floor creaked as I took each step. The floor we were staying on had not a speck of dust anywhere and was well-kept. There was no elevator so I took the stairs. When I got downstairs I peeked around the corner. The lady at the counter was looking at papers. She was fat and had long brown hair that went down her back. I cautiously walked from the stairwell to the desk. “How can I be of service to you today?” she asked. “No, I’m good. Just exploring around.” I replied. “But, do you have a brochure or something like that for this place?” “I do.” she reached in one of her desk drawers and pulled out a brochure. “Here ya go, but, there’s not much to see here anymore. This place used to be better off back in the day...” I grabbed the brochure. “How long ago was that?” I asked. “Oh, I don’t know. I’ve been here forever… I think it was about… fifteen years ago…” she replied. “Were the Uppers and Lowers around fifteen years ago?” I questioned. “Yes they were but it was not as bad back then.” she said as she sat back in her chair. “All of the staff here left ten years ago. Because they saw that this town was being taken over slowly.” “So this has been going on for a long time…” “Also kid, just a little advice, don’t go around talking about the Uppers and Lowers to any random person. The folks around here are a little sensitive, ya know?” “Thanks. Before I go I have one more question to ask you.” I said. “Are there any more people in this hotel?” “Might be… I haven’t checked in a while…” she said, stroking one of the strands of her hair. “But if there is they are probably not dangerous.” “Okay, thanks… uh… what’s your name?” I asked. “I thought you were done with questions.” she cackled. “The name is Mary.” “Thanks Mary. Wish me luck!” “Alright, good luck kid but be careful on the other floors I haven’t been up there in years. And if you do find other people in here kick em’ out! They’re not paying to stay here!” I walked up the stairs to the third floor. There was no lighting and the ugly purple wallpaper was peeling off the walls. The dust and cobwebs were all over the place. The windows along the walls were dirty. I went over to one of the doors and noticed it was busted open. I slipped inside the dark room. The covers of the bed were thrown on the floor and covered in dust. The lamp next to it was shattered and part of the window was broken. The wallpaper was peeled and torn. It looked as if someone had raided the room. I saw the closet door was slightly opened. The floor boards creaked as I walked over to it. I put my hand onto the door handle and carefully opened it. I took one step inside and the next thing I knew was a person lunging on top of me. One hand gripped my shoulder tightly and the other was balled up in a fist held high in the air. I put my hands in front of me in defense. “Wait! Wait! Don’t hit me! Please!” I cried. “Who are you?” she questioned. “Answer now! Or you’ll be sorry!” “Uh… My name is Lower Donny son of Upper Don and Upper Myra… and the brother of Lower Scarlet!” I shouted. A look of shock swept across her face. “My apologies, I thought you were an Upper.” she said as she got off of me. “Heh, it’s not a problem.” I said, getting up. “So, who are you?” “The name is Wanderer Evelyn.” she said. “Very pleased to meet you, Lower Donny.” Evelyn had dark, black, hair that ran down her back and glittering hazel eyes. Her rolled up sleeves and torn, dirty, jeans made her look as if she was living in here for a while. She had a gruff voice that matched the way she looked. “Wanderer?” I asked. “I’ve never heard that before. What does it mean?” “Wanderer is the name for people who are not on a side.” Evelyn explained. “But why would you have attacked me if I was an Upper?” I asked, rubbing my sore shoulder. “The Upper Family has proved that they are more violent than the Lower Family and you don’t look like a threat.” “Oh,” I said bleakly. “So um… the lady who owns this place told me if I saw anyone else in here to kick them out…” I nervously stroked the back of my head. “Ha, I’m only here for nostalgia purposes so you get the idea.” Evelyn said, taking a glance around the room. “I’m not exactly sure what that is but okay.” “I like you Lower Donny, you’re funny.” she said with a hard laugh. “Thanks. But uh, I got to go bye.” I said, walking to the broken door. “Maybe we’ll meet again someday?” “Until then, see ya.” Evelyn said. I walked back down the hall to the stairs again. This time I went up to the fourth floor. This floor was in the worst condition. There were endless cobwebs and spiders, dust, and random junk all over the place. I walked through the mess as fear struck me with each step. I went over to one of the windows and picked up a dusty rag on the floor. What did Amber always do when she wanted to clean something and didn’t have water? Oh, I remember! I spat on the rag and began to wipe the blackened window. Light soon shined from it and I peeked out the small spot I cleaned. To my disappointment, there wasn’t a nice view, only more buildings. I sighed and walked down the hall. I kept getting covered in the webs even when I tried to dodge them. After I went through one, I felt something crawling on my head. It crawled onto my face right in front of my eyes; this is when I saw the hideous creature. It was big, fuzzy, eight-legged, and had long fangs. “SPIDER!” I screeched as I hit my face rapidly trying to get it off. I fell back and sat on the floor. I felt my face to see if it was still there but found two sets of bites instead. “It bit me…” I said, rubbing the bites in disbelief. “Ouch.” I got up and kept walking but the bites stung the whole way. I went over to a door and tried to open it, however, it was locked. It was the same case for each door I got to, except one. The knob and lock were gone. I carefully pushed the door open and crept inside. I slowly walked through the cobweb filled room. I heard a noise. I turned to look at the direction it came from. The dust in the room made me let out a loud cough. Something in the room ran. A cloud of dust arose. I closed my eyes and kept coughing. After a few seconds the dust settled and I saw something in front of me. It was an animal. I couldn’t see what kind of animal it was because of the darkness. “Oh no, oh no…” I said, slowly backing up. “Don’t eat me please, weird animal thing.” It was sitting, looking at me. I lowered my arms a bit and took a step back. The beast ran at me at full speed. “AHHH! Get away!” I was out the door in a second and ran down the hall through every cobweb. I slid down the railing at lightning speed, screaming the whole way. When I slid to the second floor I ran down the hall to the outside of my hotel room door. I leaned against the wall and sat down, catching my breath. I looked down at myself; I was dirty, cut up, and spider-bitten. “This… was a bad… idea…” I said, breathing heavily. After I caught my breath, I looked at the door, nervous of what Emily was going to say to me. Thinking about it for a moment, I finally stood and grabbed the doorknob tightly. I let out a sigh and went inside the room. Emily was sitting on the bed, brushing her hair. “Hey, Donny.” she said. “How was your trip?” I was in shock at what she said for a moment. “Good… I guess…” “Looks like you need a shower now.” Emily said with a giggle. “Yeah… that would be… nice…” I said feeling overly tired. “But first… I need a hug…” I knelt down next to the side of the bed and lay my head on Emily’s lap as I wrapped my arms around her. I fell asleep like that and everything was peaceful for the rest of the day. Loving77 01:16, March 10, 2015 (UTC) Category:Stuff